tidge

"Can I interest you in the exciting world of Day Jobs?"

I know that, it's just that there is precious little to explain it.

What you call "nowhere", others call @Yomo Kimyata's pockets.

This is precisely what I did with my Widow... I made one male, one female. I even played them through content as different characters while I was leveling them. I tend to stick with the Fortunata, but occasionally I will shift between them on TF/SF to see if anyone says anything.

In (new) Boomtown, at location [-1980.1 -16.0 5148.5] (near Phalanxer badge) it is possible to end up in a part of the map that doesn't have the geometry boundaries properly established. This is 'between' the trusses on the ground. This appears to only be an issue with the textures (not) applied to the geometry, as I have not been able to find any holes in the bounding box.

Without a Build Up, Invincibility is a solid place to put that %proc. My Invulnerability Tanker is Energy Melee, and for my play style, I prefer it in Build Up. I usually want the boost against single-targets at specific times more than I want the boost against a large spawn, YMMV, especially depending on the type of content you play. There is nothing quite like seeing a single Paragon Protector hit Moment of Glory and then immediately clobbering him after using Build Up.

One element of Red Side play that I find personally rewarding is that Villains (and Rogues) get to go through non-SF arcs where you face and take down members of the Freedom Phalanx. This is particularly satisfying if you play the first SSA1 arc, don't exit the first mission as they show up at +20 levels to you to wipe you off the map. As I was collecting a few KOs for some defeat badges in Peregrine Island, I remembered a long-ago few questions I had about the random spawns that appear there: Nemesis troops along the southern docks. They are clearly control of those areas, yet there is nothing (to my knowledge) like an arc or even Tip mission that explains their presence there. It always strikes me as a cross between "Mary Sue" and "Recycled Enemy" when Nemesis appears in the Shadow Shard, and the role in the Rikti war is revealed, so just having these chumps stand around on the docks strikes me as weird. If we are brainstorming reasons why they are hanging around: How about they are shipping things through the Vanguard portal on the sly? This might explain why they have their Sharpshooters stationed around Founders Falls. The Possessed Scientists near Portal Court. There are some late-game missions on the red side that do a better job rationalizing the inclusion of these mobs, but on the blue side I have not encountered any reason why they exist. Minimally, I would have expected a Tip mission to detail it. Are these guys just dumped out the back door of Portal Court from other worlds/Shadow Shard? IIRC Unai Kemen doesn't offer anything like an explanation for them, which would have seemed like a natural fit. The Cutlass Isles. (and to some extent, Monster Island and the Abyss... although the badges in those zones at least hint at a story). We get teased (small) Kaiju. We get teased Crey involvement (but nothing like what they are doing in the Nerva Archipelago). We witness Rikti Monkeys everywhere. The Janet Kellum mission I guess is as close as we get to an actual explanation about what Crey was doing with them, but it all strikes me as rather unsatisfactory.

I was PUGging with a SG, and it took them a while to realize this^. It is easy to "jump in" and not realize what you are actually up against. I've not tried to be a tank on the ASF yet, but I HAVE found myself "supporting" a tank in ways I can't be certain that the tank realized it needed help. As I wrote earlier: My Fortunata ended up leaning VERY heavy into controls and confuses, and my Stalker had to make sure to target very specific enemies. I'm not ashamed to admit that my other characters were less suited to switch up against specific targets in giant spawns, so in those circumstances I was making sure to pass Insps to teammates as I was trying not to get aggro myself.

Flashbacks can be their own flavor of misery... more times than I can recall I have started an Ouro arc with some sort of restriction or buff or debuff and too late realize that I have left the settings at something like +3/x8.

So why not dual box the "Master of..."?

Many MM primaries don't have recharge intensive pets, so instead of slotting the henchmen for other things, they have to burn henchmen slots. EDIT: I was trying to summon an echo from using a slot in a KB attack to making it KD.

While not precisely the same, somewhere a lonely old Mastermind whose primary doesn't include a recharge-intensive pet laments having to sacrifice precious henchmen slots sacrificed for the effects of global enhancements.

This is how I see it: These badges may now be the sort of thing that can't be achieve through rugged individualism; consider that there may actually be a different part of the game that has to be leveraged that a player doesn't have specific and precise control over in order to earn the badges going forward. I accept that there are players who deeply believe that if they can as an individual get something in the game then they should always be able to use those things to get more things individually. I accept that there are some players who feel like they are being held back when they can't use everything they could have. I don't believe there is some fundamental truth that makes the current mechanism for earning "Master of..." Badges inherently "unfair". Under the previous HC settings, there were plenty of characters that couldn't earn the "Master of..." badges solo, but many could still experience the content as a solo player. No players are going to earn the Mentor badges by playing solo characters.

I expect no less from an iBot.

Sorry, I'm not installing MIDS. That build uses mostly set bonuses, so it shouldn't be much effort to construct it. There may be some subtle choices withe respect to a couple of sets, but they aren't complicated (slot pets for recharge, purple sets probably skip the pure damage piece because of ED, toggles probably have a /end piece).

Now that I've PUGged a few more times on the ASF (still no badge runs) I still like this SF, but it definitely feels like there is too much different content. I love the maps and challenges... but I find myself wishing I could have divided these up. I'm reminded of the inter-locking patron arcs... it would be a slog to have to do all of them in a row.

I saw the thread title an immediately thought of the dialog in Theoden's SSA1 arc in Skyway. For the record: I don't mind challenges that deny players powers, or those that buff enemies.

TrooBloo was a blaster, he started playing solo But he knew it wouldn't last TrooBlue wanted TFs, so he joined some PUGgers he used all of his attacks... Knockback, Knockback Knockback slotted in attacks Knockback, Knockback Knockback Troobloo Sweet DiamaBurnTank thought he was a herder aggro was an aura thing All the other teammates never saw him taunting but they heard him cry and sing... Knockback, Knockback Knockback is spoiling all my fun Knockback, Knockback Walls? I never saw a farm map with one.

I will attach the pet-build I use for Crab. Hasten is perma, and all three pets can be re-summoned immediately (if they aren't otherwise defeated). Some caveats on this build: 1) I made NO effort to try to maximize S/L resistance or positional defenses... that is, I stayed out of the Fighting Pool. For some AT builders, this is a non-starter. 2) The Concealment pool was reworked by Homecoming since I generated this template, but it can still hold the two LotG mules. Grant Invisibility is a little help for pets (including teammates). 3) Notice the two %procs in the Spiderlings. Because the Spiderlings have so few attacks, a strong case can be made that moving those %procs to the other pets (and these are pets, not henchmen) may yield more DPS. 4) There should be enough Global recharge that without slow debuffs, the I think this build can afford to lose some of the recharge from either/or a set bonus or a LotG mule and still keep perma-Hasten. The Recharge is really key for the pets (and to not have the Endurance drop). If you are willing to cut into the Global Recharge margin, I would consider one of the following changes: Sacrifice both the Concealment mules to get Rune of Protection from Sorcery Steal slots from Web Envelope to get the 6th-piece +MaxEnd set bonus in Channelgun, and to add dedicated Defense/Resistance boosted pieces to certain powers Alter one of the AoE attacks (probably Suppression, moving the Annihilation set elsewhere) to be a %proc cone attack with a possibly longer range. My personal preference would be to do the last one first; I find cone attacks with debuffs to be a good force multiplier for pets. Villain Plan by Hero Villain Designer 2.23 https://github.com/ImaginaryDevelopment/imaginary-hero-designer Click this DataLink to open the build! Old Cob3.1: Level 50 Natural Arachnos Soldier Primary Power Set: Crab Spider Soldier Secondary Power Set: Crab Spider Training Power Pool: Sorcery Power Pool: Leadership Power Pool: Concealment Power Pool: Speed Ancillary Pool: Mace Mastery Villain Profile: Level 1: Channelgun -- SprSpdBit-Acc/Dmg:50(A), SprSpdBit-Dmg/Rchg:50(9), SprSpdBit-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg:50(3), SprSpdBit-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg:50(27), SprSpdBit-Rchg/Global Toxic:50(31) Level 1: Wolf Spider Armor -- StdPrt-ResDam/Def+:30(A) Level 2: Combat Training: Defensive -- LucoftheG-Rchg+:50(A), ShlWal-ResDam/Re TP:50(3) Level 4: Longfang -- SprDmnofA-Acc/Dmg:50(A), SprDmnofA-Dmg/Rchg:50(5), SprDmnofA-Acc/Dmg/Rchg:50(5), SprDmnofA-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg:50(7), SprDmnofA-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg:50(7), SprDmnofA-Rchg/DmgFear%:50(9) Level 6: Crab Spider Armor Upgrade -- GldArm-3defTpProc:50(A) Level 8: Mystic Flight -- BlsoftheZ-ResKB:50(A) Level 10: Suppression -- Ann-Acc/Dmg:50(A), Ann-Dmg/Rchg:50(11), Ann-Acc/Dmg/Rchg:50(11), Ann-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx:50(13), Ann-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg:50(29), Ann-ResDeb%:50(31) Level 12: Venom Grenade -- Rgn-Dmg:50(A), Rgn-Dmg/Rchg:50(13), Rgn-Acc/Dmg/Rchg:50(23), Rgn-Acc/Rchg:50(25), Rgn-Dmg/EndRdx:50(25), PstBls-Dam%:50(40) Level 14: Tactical Training: Maneuvers -- Rct-Def:50(A), Rct-Def/EndRdx:50(15), Rct-EndRdx/Rchg:50(15), Rct-Def/Rchg:50(17), Rct-Def/EndRdx/Rchg:50(17), Rct-ResDam%:50(19) Level 16: Maneuvers -- LucoftheG-Rchg+:50(A), LucoftheG-Def:50(37) Level 18: Frag Grenade -- PstBls-Acc/Dmg:50(A), PstBls-Dmg/Rchg:50(19), PstBls-Dmg/Rng:50(21), PstBls-Dmg/EndRdx:50(21), PstBls-Dam%:50(23), SuddAcc--KB/+KD:50(29) Level 20: Tactical Training: Leadership -- GssSynFr--Build%:50(A) Level 22: Mental Training -- Run-I:50(A) Level 24: Fortification -- UnbGrd-Max HP%:50(A), UnbGrd-ResDam:50(27), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx:50(40), UnbGrd-Rchg/ResDam:50(50) Level 26: Frenzy -- Arm-Dmg:50(A), Arm-Dmg/Rchg:50(37), Arm-Dmg/EndRdx:50(43), Arm-Acc/Dmg/Rchg:50(43), Arm-Dam%:50(46), TchofLadG-%Dam:50(50) Level 28: Serum -- Prv-Heal:50(A), Prv-Heal/EndRdx:50(33), Prv-EndRdx/Rchg:50(33), Prv-Heal/Rchg:50(33), Prv-Heal/Rchg/EndRdx:50(34), Prv-Absorb%:50(34) Level 30: Grant Invisibility -- LucoftheG-Rchg+:50(A) Level 32: Hasten -- RechRdx-I:50(A), RechRdx-I:50(34) Level 35: Summon Spiderlings -- ExpRnf-Acc/Rchg:50(A), ExpRnf-Acc/Dmg:50(36), ExpRnf-Acc/Dmg/Rchg:50(36), ExpRnf-EndRdx/Dmg/Rchg:50(36), OvrFrc-Dam/KB:50(37), SlbAll-Build%:50(50) Level 38: Call Reinforcements -- ExpRnf-Acc/Rchg:50(A), ExpRnf-Acc/Dmg:50(39), ExpRnf-Acc/Dmg/Rchg:50(39), ExpRnf-EndRdx/Dmg/Rchg:50(39), EdcoftheM-PetDef:40(40) Level 41: Web Envelope -- GrvAnc-Immob:50(A), GrvAnc-Immob/Rchg:50(42), GrvAnc-Immob/EndRdx:50(42), GrvAnc-Acc/Immob/Rchg:50(42), GrvAnc-Hold%:50(43) Level 44: Shatter Armor -- Hct-Dmg:50(A), Hct-Dmg/Rchg:50(45), Hct-Acc/Dmg/Rchg:50(45), Hct-Dmg/EndRdx:50(45), Hct-Dam%:50(46), TchofDth-Dam%:40(46) Level 47: Summon Blaster -- ExpRnf-Acc/Rchg:50(A), ExpRnf-Acc/Dmg/Rchg:50(48), ExpRnf-EndRdx/Dmg/Rchg:50(48), ExpRnf-+Res(Pets):50(48) Level 49: Invisibility -- LucoftheG-Rchg+:50(A) Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A) Level 1: Prestige Power Dash -- Empty(A) Level 1: Prestige Power Slide -- Empty(A) Level 1: Prestige Power Quick -- Empty(A) Level 1: Prestige Power Rush -- Empty(A) Level 1: Prestige Power Surge -- Empty(A) Level 1: Conditioning Level 1: Sprint -- UnbLea-Stlth:50(A) Level 2: Rest -- IntRdx-I:50(A) Level 4: Ninja Run Level 2: Swift -- Run-I:50(A) Level 2: Health -- Pnc-Heal/+End:50(A), NmnCnv-Regen/Rcvry+:50(31) Level 2: Hurdle -- Jump-I:50(A) Level 2: Stamina -- PrfShf-End%:50(A) Level 0: Born In Battle Level 0: High Pain Threshold Level 0: Invader Level 0: Marshal ------------ ------------

I'm not sure why Hasten wouldn't have 2 Recharge IOs. The little bit of S/L resistance from the 2-pieces of Reactive Defenses should be sacrificed to free slots, and just use a boosted Def/End Shield Wall or HO+3 instead. I would also try to move a slot into Serum (from Health, sacrificing the Numina piece seems trivial) and slot 6 pieces of Preventive Medicine instead of 5 Panacea. I'd dedicate one of the sprints to an Endurance reduction option, and possibly one with a Stealth piece. There is a lot I am not crazy about with that build, but those are the immediate things I would tweak without changing up power picks.

Slot one (or more) %damage enhancements in Mass Confuse, and the caster enters the running for drop tables for every enemy that takes %damage... no matter what defeats them. For me, the most frustrating feature of Mind Control is the delayed damage on Levitate. As near as I can tell it exists simply so we can enjoy the ragdoll physics.

I like having the Kismet "global", and I like having it pre-50 (when slots are rare, and when the CoT debuffs are painful), but I tend to drop it unless: I have an auto (or must-use toggle) power, because Kismet only contributes when the power is on. (I'm not sure about click defenses. but those almost certainly have better slot options anyway). My Stalkers slot it in Hide ASAP. I have a Snipe as part of an attack chain, since (fast) snipes have more damage based on ToHit (up to 22%, IIRC) (My Blasters, Stalkers, Scrappers) I have a significant number of "proc monster" attacks, such that many attacks don't have accuracy slotting. I really enjoy playing against +N/debuffing content, and I want my teammates to see me hitting while they whiff! I will admit that I typically slot Enhancement sets that end up giving me pretty big +Accuracy bonuses, so like @Yomo Kimyata wrote, I am watching my last to-hit chance.

I feel like there are opportunities for some Blue Steel content. Ideally, he'd actually be the "big bad" of his own arc. The PPD and Blue Steel make an appearance in the DA incarnate content, but I've always felt that the (classic) Clockwork deserved an arc with more explicit "fantasy roleplay" elements in it as opposed to just naming bosses after court titles. 1) We could get a flashback mission (suitable for Vigilantes?) that more fully reveals his part in the origin of the Clockwork King. 2) Alternatively, we could get a "Kings Row TF" as a sort of Synapse-TF-adjacent arc that features classic Clockwork.

Last night I was playing with a "not good" AT. I realized it was because I didn't spend enough Inf on my Enhancements. All my existing enhancements were trashed and I put in all new bids for replacement Enhancements at 10x market prices, and now I have over 300 Alphas! The mistake I made was not spending MOAR on PRIMO Enhancements. -This message brought to you by the Guild of EbilTM Marketeers. Past performance is not a guarantee of future returns. Spokesmen may have been compensated for their endorsements.